Adapted from
Steak and Cake: More than 100 Recipes to Makes Any Meal a Smash Hit by
Elizabeth Karmel
I made some tweaks to the original recipe, which called for natural cocoa powder. I used Dutched-process and it turned out fine. (You can read more on the subject at my
Cocoa Powder FAQs.) I also didn't use cake flour, because I didn't have it, but if you want to use that, you can substitute 2 1/4 cups of cake flour for the all-purpose flour, and increase the milk to 1 1/3 cups, which were in the original recipe.
Sweetened shredded coconut gives this cake its "candy bar" flavor, but you can use freshly grated or unsweetened shredded or grated coconut. Try to find one that's coarsely shredded or grated, for textural appeal and character.